Where the Money Comes From Matters
Chicago budget season is here, and it’s important that our elected officials hear from the community as they set funding priorities for the coming year. This is our chance to ensure the City continues its momentum of investing in arts and culture.
Last year (FY22), Chicago took an important first step and invested $10 million from the Corporate Fund to support the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE)’s grantmaking. This year, we are urging the City to expand that commitment to $15 million.
Why We Care Where the Money Comes From
A significant portion of DCASE’s current annual budget comes from the City’s Special Events & Municipal Hotel Operators’ Occupation Tax Fund. This means DCASE’s budget is vulnerable to declines in hotel occupancy (which, of course, happened during the height of COVID in 2020).
The Corporate Fund, on the other hand, is Chicago’s general operating fund. It is generally used to fund essential city services and operations and gets its revenues from more stable, core sources like the city-collected sales tax and tax on utilities.
Applying Corporate Fund dollars to DCASE makes the agency’s budget less dependent on the ups and downs of the hotel tax. This change in mix of funding sources—and expansion of the funding itself—makes the statement that arts and culture is an essential service worthy of the City’s core funds. We love to see that.
If you agree with us that the City should invest $15 million in DCASE this year from the Corporate Fund, fill out our petition. Once we’ve gathered support, we’ll send this to the people who make the calls about what money goes where.
If you have any questions, reach out to Erick Deshaun Dorris, Director of Community Organizing, at dorris@artsalliance.org.
